American Airlines / airline dissatisfaction

In this day of technology, where at anytime a customer service desk can be eliminated with a touch screen kiosk, why are the ones who are fortunate enough to have a job so rude? Generally, I am not a person that will call in or write in to a company to complain. However, after a recent experience with American Airlines, I felt compelled to do so. I sent off an email to their customer relations center. Within a day I received a response. They were apologetic and offered me a $100 credit. In most cases I would have been satisfied. I paid the extra money for first class tickets; I expected that level of service. In flight, it was perfect. The flight attendants were amazing. When I landed at Chicago O'Hare though, it was a completely different experience.

I asked the lady at the gate if I was at the right gate for my connection. Yes, she said, with a smile. Almost an hour passed and no plane had arrived, so I went to ask her how much longer. It was then that she informed me that my plane departed from a completely different gate. When I asked her why she told me to stay at that particular gate, her response was, "My mistake", and then she proceeded to tell me that if didn't like her service than I should have drove. What? I shelled out how many hundreds of dollars for this? It is ludicrous.

We consumers have got to stand up to these corporations. We must let them know that we will not accept this sub-par service any longer. The only way they will feel the effect of our dissatisfaction is in their wallets. I personally will not use American Airlines again. Whether it is for business or personal travel, and I will encourage my family and business associates to steer clear of them as well.